Golden Hair brandished his arm and hit out a fist at Ning Tao's face.

But Ning Tao remained motionless. He did not even duck. That same bizarre smile was still upon his lips.

“d.a.m.n you, go on and smile!” Crew Cut kneed Ning Tao's groin heavily again.

Thump!

In the deserted lane, another sound resounded which could make a man contract his bladder.

But Ning Tao still remained there motionless, a smile on his lips.

“Idiot! Go on smiling!” Golden Hair cursed. He struck with both fists, pummeling Ning Tao's face like pattering raindrops.

Crew Cut also joined him. He aimed a kick on Ning Tao's lower abdomen.

Thump, thump, thump…

Fists and feet striking flesh. The dull thumps resounded like a drum in this lane rhythmically.

Since the first strike, Ning Tao had not moved. Nor did he retaliate. He allowed Crew Cut and Golden Hair to hit him with their fists and legs, a bizarre smile still hovering on his lips. He gave one the impression of a life-size inflatable doll, or the Beast in the movie Kung Fu Hustle.

A man smiling as he was attacked, not feeling the least bit of pain. But his a.s.sailants had tired. After some time, both Golden Hair and Crew Cut stopped, panting. One of them had swollen fists, while the other had stung feet.

Only now did Ning Tao speak. He said blandly, “Have you hit enough?”

Golden Hair stood with his arms akimbo, panting strenuously. “d.a.m.n you, you sure can take blows, you idiot. I will…”

Ning Tao suddenly stretched out his hands, pinning down his neck. He raised his right knee, bringing it up to Golden Hair's nose with a loud thud.

A noise cracked. Golden Hair's nose bridge had been shattered. Excruciating pain and reverberations gushed into his brain. He did not have even the chance to groan, collapsing to the ground and pa.s.sing out.

Crew Cut was stunned. “How dare you retaliate!”

Ning Tao nodded. “Yes, I do have the courage.”

“d.a.m.n you, you're looking for death!” Crew Cut grabbed that knife which had been stabbed into the crevice between the bricks. He conveniently stabbed at Ning Tao's lower abdomen.

One second later, his hand holding to the knife could not advance even a millimeter. Ning Tao had grabbed his wrist, with a grip as strong and unyielding as a steel pincer. He even felt that his wrist would be crushed!

“Release me! My boss won't let you off!” Crew Cut screeched.

Ning Tao smiled. “You'd better try overcoming this calamity first.”

As his voice died away, his fist struck down.

Crew Cut's head and ears also flopped down. His body slumped like slime onto the ground.

Ning Tao took out from his small medicine chest an ordinary prescription with a blood lock. He unlocked it and grabbed Crew Cut and Golden Hair by their ankles. He dragged them directly into the convenient door.

The ordinary prescription drifted down in the air, landing on the garbage dump, totally inconspicuous.

In Sky Clinic, the human face on the good-evil tripod showed an angry face.

Ning Tao threw Crew Cut and Golden Hair conveniently on the floor. Then he took out his ledger of bamboo slips and placed it on Golden Hair's head.

A diagnosis of Golden Hair appeared on the ledger: Chen Bin, born 1991, the fifth day of the sixth lunar month. A total sc.u.m. His first sin: unfilial to his parents, 10 demerit points for this sin of evil intention. His second sin: a loan shark with 107 cases; 427 demerit points for this sin of evil intention. His third sin: Bullying the weak, 105 cases, 300 demerit points for this sin of evil intention. His fourth sin: Womanizing and insulting women… In total, 767 demerit points for all his sins of evil intentions. Prescribe a sin prescription and hack off his hands and feet as punishment.

A total sc.u.m?

It was the first time Ning Tao had seen such a definition for a patient on his ledger of bamboo slips. But it was not difficult to understand what it meant at all. Although both men had not murdered or attempted arson, they had relentless minor sins, like bullying the kindhearted and the weak. They were ruffians who might clobber anyone they found on the street not to their liking. They were total sc.u.ms.

Being a loan shark meant that they must collect debts and do evil. The loan sharks nowadays would not lend to anyone who could pay. They would deliberately provide loans to college students and small traders. They might even come up with a scheme to entice people to borrow. These two debt collectors would of course coerce college students, small traders or minor employees. They would expose female college students' nude photos, hara.s.s small traders from doing proper business, and splash farces at the elders' houses, pouring red paint on their doors. They would even strike the elderly. They often did such things and therefore acc.u.mulated an astonis.h.i.+ngly large number of demerit points.

As the saying went, “Don't perform evil even if it is a minor sin. Perform good even if it is a minor good.”

Those who did good might perform minor good like helping the elderly cross the road. If they performed them consistently, they would also reap rewards. Those who did wicked deeds might only be s.n.a.t.c.hing away sweets from young children. But such misdeeds, when performed routinely, would acc.u.mulate terrifying sins of evil intentions. They would reap retributions.

Ning Tao also used the ledger of bamboo slips to give Crew Cut a diagnosis.

Crew Cut's name was Zhou Qiang. Like Golden Hair, he was a total sc.u.m. He had acc.u.mulated over 700 demerit points for his sins of evil intention. The final treatment was the same: chopping off his hands and feet to atone for his sins.

Ning Tao kept the ledger of bamboo slips and went to his study table to write out two sin of evil intention prescriptions.

After writing the prescriptions, Ning Tao took out the Blade of the Solar Eclipse from his small medicine chest. He grabbed a foot of Golden Hair and sliced through his ankle deftly.

Blood spurted out. His foot tendons were severed.

“Ah—” Golden Hair awoke in great pain, shrieking mournfully.

Ning Tao flung away his foot and went to Crew Cut. He lifted Crew Cut's foot and sliced off his foot tendons in one stroke.

“Ah!” Crew Cut also awoke in the pain. He saw Ning Tao grabbing his foot and holding a surgical knife. Blood was gus.h.i.+ng out from his ankle. He was so horrified that his face turned bloodlessly pale. “You, you… are a murderer! Murder!”

His cries, like pigs squealing before slaughter, reverberated in Sky Clinic.

Golden Hair also yelled in a hoa.r.s.e voice, “Murder! Help!”

Ning Tao also flung away Crew Cut's foot. He said blandly, “Go on yelling. Even if you cry yourself hoa.r.s.e, there won't be anyone here to save you.”

What a familiar line.

Golden Hair clambered up from the ground, scampering towards the door.

Ning Tao did not stop him and only stared.

Golden Hair stretched out his hand to open the door, but it would not open. He yelled out at the door, but no one gave any response from the outside.

Ning Tao walked over and kicked Golden Hair down in one kick. Then he severed his other foot's tendons.

“Ah— don't kill me, don't…” Golden Hair shrieked hideously. His voice sounded even more hideous than pigs squealing in an abattoir.

Ning Tao said coldly, “One more cry and I will slice through your hand tendons.”

Golden Hair immediately bit his lip. He was afraid to make another sound.

Cold sweat was already dripping down Crew Cut's forehead. Although he and Golden Hair were ruffians, they were not fit to even carry the shoes of a “ruffian” like Ning Tao. Seeing Ning Tao's malicious face, he did not doubt that Ning Tao would slay him and Golden Hair!

Ning Tao dragged Golden Hair back and casually cast him aside. Then, he grabbed Crew Cut's other foot and sliced down.

“Ah!” Crew Cut shrieked in shock. Tears gushed out from his eyes. “But I… I didn't yell…”

Ning Tao said blandly, “I like to do this, alright? No matter which one of you yells, I will sever your hand tendons.”

Crew Cut and Golden Hair shut their mouths tightly. They did not dare to utter even a sound in the pain.

Ning Tao said, “You two are now injured and cannot go out. I'm a doctor by the way and can treat your injuries. I'm a very good doctor, and so will have no problem fixing your feet tendons. But I have my rules in treating a patient. You two must sign on my prescriptions.”

This was the reason why he did not retaliate no matter how they beat him in the lane. Sky Clinic had its own operating principles. As the owner of the clinic, he could not actively harm villains whose retributions were not yet due, and then treat them for treatment fees. But if they attacked him, he could retaliate. Therefore, the heavier Crew Cut and Golden Hair bashed him and the more vicious their insults, the happier Ning Tao was.

His words confused Golden Hair and Crew Cut. They could not help glancing at each other. Neither knew what tricks Ning Tao had up his sleeve.

Ning Tao said again, “If you won't accept my treatment, there will be no use keeping you here. My dog hasn't had meat for days.”

Crew Cut cried, “I will accept treatment, I will!”

Golden Hair also cried, “I will sign, I will sign!”

A smile hovered on Ning Tao's lips. “Wouldn't this resolve our problem nicely? Sign then.”

Ning Tao handed Golden Hair and Crew Cut a folded sin of evil intention prescription each. They signed and he gave each of them a Fine Primary Elixir.

Golden Hair and Crew Cut took the pills. Green fumes gushed out of the good-evil tripod, engulfing both of them in an instant.

The green fumes subsided. Golden Hair and Crew Cut were lying on the floor. The tendons of their feet had healed. There was not the least sign of a scar on their ankles. But the two of them did not wake. They still lay on the floor, completely still after the treatment ended.

Ning Tao's heart shook and he suddenly understood. “Chopping off their hands and feet means that I must accept their hands and feet as payment. Very well, I shall perform a minor surgery.”

Ning Tao walked over with his Blade of the Solar Eclipse. He grabbed Golden Hair's hand and sliced down…

His “minor surgery” was done. Green fumes emerged from the good-evil tripod again, engulfing Golden Hair and Crew Cut. Both were without their hands and feet.

The green fumes subsided again. Crew Cut and Golden Hair were still there, but their hands and feet were gone.

Since only chopping off their hands and feet could atone for their sins, he had to accept them.

Ning Tao came to the lock wall and opened a convenient door. He carried Golden Hair and Crew Cut in his arms and walked in.

The other side of the convenient door was a dense primeval forest.

This was an uninhabited area of Shennongjia, near the deep chasm.

After throwing them on the ground, Ning Tao turned and re-entered the convenient door.

After a long time, Golden Hair and Crew Cut slowly regained consciousness.

“This place is…” Crew Cut unconsciously stretched out his arms to prop himself up. He wanted to clamber up, but found himself without hands.

Golden Hair looked at the empty legs of his trousers and started. Then he shrieked. “Ah—”

Ah!

What a magnificent vista of nature!

The ledger of bamboo slips did not want the lives of these two sc.u.ms, so Ning Tao could not kill them. But he could decide where to deposit them.

“Help—”

“Save us!”

Their voices were so loud and resonant.

But even if they cried themselves hoa.r.s.e, no one would hear them.